Heavy rains are coming through Tennessee today and tomorrow so not much work will get done out in the garden. Yesterday I picked up some bagged dirt to add a little more soil to the vegetable garden to make up for what the rains had settled down. While getting the dirt at the big blue box store I noticed that they already had discount racks out for plants. It's a shame that they put stuff out so early before the safe last freeze date. I'm certain those plants would be more alive if they had been under cover.

At the store a family was looking over the discount plants and stumbled across the calla lilies. The mom of the family was admiring them for their interesting challis-like flowers. It must have been the pictures she was looking at since the flowers really didn't look so hot. The tag on them apparently said part sun. My in-laws had a couple last year that grew in full sun and clay soil so I mentioned that they would probably be fine. The family went and asked the store clerk about them and the clerk explained the color coding system. Each tag color meant either full sun, part sun or shade. What the clerk did not mention is that there is a range of conditions for plants. It's not always part sun, but usually goes part sun-full sun or part-shade to full shade. A plant in Texas may need part sun where the same plant in Tennessee could take full sun, it all depends on the climate. I double checked when I got home to make sure that what I was thinking was right and every place I looked said that calla lilies like part-sun to full sun. Some places even said that full sun was better for the flowers. They like lots of moisture which would be very important in a full sun area. The store clerk is a nice lady that I've seen many times over the last year, but I have asked her questions before and she hasn't been very helpful. I wonder how much training they get for plants in those stores. Whatever they get it should be more, that's probably why garden nurseries are better places for plants. Where have you planted calla lilies?

After the store we arrived home and together my 2.5 year old daughter and I spread the dirt all over the tops of the beds. There she is in the above picture standing next to one of the raised beds. She has a little toy rake that she used, it wasn't very effective in the physical sense but her presence in the garden is helping her to gain an appreciation for gardening.

We also managed to seed some lettuce in one of the beds. They are the first new residents of our raised bed garden!